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Full-Text Articles in Education
Writing That Counts: Grounding A Critique Of The Common Core English Language Arts Standards In Classroom Memories, Katie Nagrotsky, Anaisbely Franjul Grullon
Writing That Counts: Grounding A Critique Of The Common Core English Language Arts Standards In Classroom Memories, Katie Nagrotsky, Anaisbely Franjul Grullon
Democracy and Education
The authors of this article call upon classroom memories to demonstrate the harm of the standardized testing apparatus in the English Language Arts (ELA) classroom. Goal setting under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) has led to targeted school intervention based on metrics, and many states have chosen to double down on standardized ELA and math test data to determine the quality of a school, student learning, and teacher effectiveness. The authors argue that the assessments associated with the ELA Common Core State Standards (CCSS) are harmful to all students, and particularly students from marginalized communities whose literacies are not …
Understanding Conflict In Education For Democracy. A Response To "The Value Of Conflict And Disagreement In Democratic Teacher Education", Steven P. Camicia
Understanding Conflict In Education For Democracy. A Response To "The Value Of Conflict And Disagreement In Democratic Teacher Education", Steven P. Camicia
Democracy and Education
Teachers are often apprehensive about facilitating deliberation in classrooms because conflicts can develop when deliberations surround issues of authentic concern to students. However, conflict is central to deliberation, and the identities and experiences of participants must be reflected in deliberation. These differences challenge the assumptions of neutrality and a common good that can restrain conflict. Harell’s article focuses upon many of these aspects of deliberation and the essential role of facilitators as conflicts emerge from deliberation. In my response to Harell, I extend his findings by developing the themes of conflict, identity, and inclusion. These themes are conceptually linked and …
Starting With Children’S Democratic Imagination. A Response To "That’S My Voice! Participation And Citizenship In Early Childhood", Katherina A. Payne
Starting With Children’S Democratic Imagination. A Response To "That’S My Voice! Participation And Citizenship In Early Childhood", Katherina A. Payne
Democracy and Education
The article adds to a growing conversation that recognizes and supports young children’s civic capabilities, positioning them as citizens-now and not simply citizens in the future. They detail how three different classrooms sought to work with children to engage in social action on behalf of their broader community. This response wonders alongside the authors about how adults can best work with children to support their civic action and proposes that teachers engage children’s visions for a more just, humanizing democratic society. The article offers three avenues of action for teachers as they support children’s civicness: reflection on our views and …
The Measure Of Youth Policy Arguments: An Approach To Supporting Democratic Participation And Student Voice, Ben Kirshner, Shelley Zion, Daniela Digiacomo, Ginnie Logan
The Measure Of Youth Policy Arguments: An Approach To Supporting Democratic Participation And Student Voice, Ben Kirshner, Shelley Zion, Daniela Digiacomo, Ginnie Logan
Democracy and Education
Although experiential approaches to democracy education are gaining increased support from educators and scholars, few educational resources exist to support youth in constructing and delivering high-quality, evidence-based policy arguments to authentic audiences. Such presentations are often the first time that young people step into the public sphere and speak to public officials; they represent rich opportunities for youth political development and activism. In this paper, we introduce an assessment tool, called the Measure of Youth Policy Arguments (MYPA), which is intended to be a resource for community and school educators. Drawing on data from two years of field-testing and iterative …
The Foot And The Flag: Patriotism, Place, And The Teaching Of War In A Military Town, Brian Gibbs
The Foot And The Flag: Patriotism, Place, And The Teaching Of War In A Military Town, Brian Gibbs
Democracy and Education
This manuscript describes the patriotism taught and not taught by nine teachers to the children of soldiers near a military base in the American South. The nine teachers, all participants in a qualitative study, detail the pressures endured and the pedagogical and curricular decisions made as result. The teachers experienced social and political pressure from the broader community to avoid controversial or complex issues, fear that complicated teaching troubling more simple notions of patriotism would stress or possibly traumatize their students (the children of soldiers), and pressure to teach within the district-assigned curriculum map. The teachers responded in different ways. …
Dialectic Of Empathy. A Book Review Of Educating For Empathy: Literacy Learning And Civic Engagement, Dan Deweese
Dialectic Of Empathy. A Book Review Of Educating For Empathy: Literacy Learning And Civic Engagement, Dan Deweese
Democracy and Education
In Educating for Empathy: Literacy Learning and Civic Engagement, Mirra describes the value of teaching “critical civic empathy” in K–12 literacy classrooms. Distinguished from standard curricular uses of empathy that stress politeness at the level of the individual, critical civic empathy challenges students to take active steps toward questioning how imbalances of power and privilege arise and what assumptions should be questioned in order to address those imbalances. Mirra examines various teachers who center social issues in their literacy classrooms through the use of literature, the techniques of high school debate, research methodologies that see students as knowledge producers, …
Beyond The Invisible Barriers Of The Classroom: Iengage And Civic Praxis, Kevin Russel Magill, Victoria Davis Smith, Brooke Blevins, Karon N. Lecompte
Beyond The Invisible Barriers Of The Classroom: Iengage And Civic Praxis, Kevin Russel Magill, Victoria Davis Smith, Brooke Blevins, Karon N. Lecompte
Democracy and Education
Research literature suggests students need to engage in actual civic experiences; however, in most cases, teachers feel unwilling or unable to facilitate experiences beyond the formal classroom setting. In this project, we sought to understand the relationship between social studies teachers’ civic ideology, pedagogical approaches, and instructional decision-making through their engagement in an action civics camp. The project is part of a more significant effort to help critically minded teachers engage in more activist praxis by moving past the often-limiting ideological barriers of the classroom. By activist praxis, we refer to the ways a teacher’s ideology informs pedagogy related to …